Systems and methods for electro-therapy treatment

ABSTRACT

A system for electro-therapeutically treating a patient includes a stimulatory device electromagnetically coupled with the nervous system of a patient, an electrical power supply, and a control mechanism structured to energize the stimulatory device by way of the electrical power supply at a stimulation frequency. The control mechanism is further structured to control the energizing so as to produce a treatment signal encoded in the energizing and having a treatment signal frequency equal to or less than the stimulation frequency.

CROSS-REFERENCE

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/507,168 titled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FORELECTRO-THERAPY TREATMENT,” to Thomas Carrico, filed May 16, 2017, theentire disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by referenceherein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to electro-therapy, and moreparticularly to electro-therapy entraining the autonomic nervous systemof a patient to an encoded treatment signal.

BACKGROUND

There have been significant technical and scientific advancements in thefields of cardiovascular research, neurology, neuroscience,electrophysiology, and others in recent years. While much of theresearch is in its infancy, recent developments relating to a greaterunderstanding of the role and importance of systemic resonancefrequencies in the human body, and their effect on and relationship withheart rate variability (HRV), have shown promise in supporting thedevelopment of improved and altogether new strategies for treatingdisease and improving the health of human beings.

HRV is believed to represent one physiological parameter by whichfrequency phenomena in the human body are observable. Power spectralanalysis is used to separate the complex HRV waveform into its componentrhythms. Spectral analysis provides information about how power isdistributed as a function of frequency. Those skilled in the art will befamiliar with the division of the power spectrum into a plurality offrequency bands. Electrical activity of the nervous system in thesebands is understood to have certain relationships with patient health,in particular the autonomic nervous system. The autonomic nervous systemis generally divided into the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervoussystems. The relative level of stimulation by way of each of thesesystems as well as their balance and tone understood to be indicative ofvarious human health conditions. There have been proposals in recentyears to utilize biofeedback in an attempt to train patients to modulatetheir autonomic nervous system function. Such techniques appear to havemerit; however, advancements would be readily accepted in the field.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect, a method of electro-therapeutically treating a patientincludes energizing a stimulatory device electromagnetically coupledwith the nervous system of the patient, at a stimulation frequency. Themethod further includes controlling the energizing of the stimulatorydevice so as to encode a treatment signal in the energizing of thestimulatory device, the treatment signal having a treatment signalfrequency that is equal to or less than the stimulation frequency. Themethod further includes entraining the autonomic nervous system of thepatient to the treatment signal, so as to adjust a power spectraldensity of the autonomic nervous system toward a target power spectraldensity.

In another aspect, a method of electro-therapeutically treating apatient includes receiving data indicative of electrical activity of theautonomic nervous system of the patient, comparing the data with astored model, and outputting a diagnostic signal based on the comparingof the data with a stored model. The method further includes energizingat least one stimulatory device structured to electromagnetically couplewith the nervous system of the patient, at a stimulation frequency,responsive to the diagnostic signal. The method further includescontrolling the energizing of the at least one stimulatory device so asto encode a treatment signal at a treatment signal frequency that isequal to or less than the stimulation frequency.

In still another aspect, a system for electro-therapeutically treating apatient includes at least one stimulatory device structured toelectromagnetically couple with the nervous system of the patient, andan electrical power supply coupled with the at least one stimulatorydevice. The system further includes a control mechanism structured toenergize the at least one stimulatory device by way of the electricalpower supply at a stimulation frequency. The control mechanism isfurther structured to control the energizing of the at least onestimulatory device so as to produce a treatment signal encoded in theenergizing of the at least one stimulatory device and having a treatmentsignal frequency that is equal to or less than the stimulationfrequency.

In still another aspect, a device for electro-therapeutically treating apatient includes a stimulatory device structured to electromagneticallycouple with the nervous system of the patient, and a control mechanismfor the stimulatory device including a computer, and a computer readablememory containing computer executable program instructions, and thecontrol mechanism is structured by way of execution of the computerexecutable program instructions to: control an electrical power supplycoupled with the stimulatory device, such that the stimulatory device isenergized at a stimulation frequency that is about 1 Hz or greater, andcontrol the energizing of the stimulatory device so as to encode atreatment signal at a treatment signal frequency that from about 0.001Hz to about 1 Hz.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a system level diagram of a system for electro-therapeuticallytreating a patient, according to one embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a graph of power spectral density of autonomic nervous systemactivity in comparison with a target power spectral density;

FIG. 3 is a graph of power spectral density of electrical activity inthe autonomic nervous system having been adjusted by way of entrainmentaccording to the present disclosure, in comparison with the target powerspectral density;

FIG. 4 is a graph of a time-varying pattern of electrical signals andheart rate variability over time where autonomic nervous system functionis entrained according to a first treatment signal;

FIG. 5 is a graph of a time-varying pattern of electrical signals andheart rate variability over time where autonomic nervous system functionis entrained according to a different treatment signal;

FIG. 6 is a graph of a time-varying pattern of electrical signals andheart rate variability over time where autonomic nervous system functionis entrained according to yet another treatment signal; and

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating example process and control logicflow, according to one embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIG. 1 , there is shown a system 10 forelectro-therapeutically treating a patient. System 10 may include atleast one stimulatory device 12 structured to electromagnetically couplewith the nervous system 22 of the patient. In an implementation, the atleast one stimulatory device (hereinafter “device”) 12 includes anelectrode (not shown) in contact with the body of the patient andimplanted or in contact with the patient's skin, for example. Device 12could include a vagal stimulator, a spinal cord stimulator, an auricularstimulator, a deep-brain stimulator, a non-contact transcranialstimulator, or any other device suitable for stimulating a patient'snervous system. The illustration in FIG. 1 depicts device 12 as it mightappear where implemented as a trans-cutaneous stimulator positioned tostimulate the auricular branch of the vagus nerve, and is shown as asingle device. It should be appreciated that the description herein ofdevice 12 in the singular is intended to also encompass implementationswhere plural devices are used. Moreover, positioning of device 12 asdepicted in FIG. 1 should be understood to disclose by analogy otherconfigurations or positioning of the one or more stimulatory devices.Those skilled in the art will readily conceptualize how device 12 mightbe configured and placed in a vagal stimulatory application or a spinalcord stimulator application, for instance. It will further beappreciated that certain implementations of system 10 might employnervous system stimulation strategies that may not require device 12,such as, for instance, stimulation strategies that use magnetic or soundfrequency delivery systems.

In FIG. 1 , the autonomic nervous system (ANS) 22 is depicted asincluding both parasympathetic connections 36 and sympatheticconnections 38 to one or more organs or locations 40, such as the lungs,heart, stomach, intestines, kidneys, pancreas, the adrenal or parotidglands, or any other organ, tissue, system, or location innervated bythe ANS. It should be appreciated that the illustration of the nervoussystem 22 in FIG. 1 is illustrative only, and from the followingdescription it will be apparent that other systems and subsystems of thehuman body can affect and be affected by electro-therapy treatment inthe manner contemplated herein. In FIG. 1 the patient's amygdala andhypothalamus and amygdala are shown with reference numerals 18 and 20,respectively. Without being bound by theory, electrical stimulationaccording to the prescribed manner disclosed herein is understood tostimulate the central nervous system (CNS) of the patient in a mannerthat triggers a cascade of events originating at the amygdala 18 andhypothalamus 20 that induces beneficial and at least temporarily lastingchanges in the electrical activity of the ANS, bringing aboutimprovement or alleviation of a variety of different medical orpsychological conditions of the patient.

To this end, system 10 further includes a control mechanism 14 that iscoupled with an electrical power supply 16 and with device 12, andstructured to energize device 12 by way of electrical power supply 16 ata stimulation frequency. In an implementation, control mechanism 14includes power circuitry 24 electrically coupled between device 12 andelectrical power supply 16, and includes switches (not shown) that canbe controlled in a manner to produce the desired stimulation frequency.The stimulation frequency might be from about 1 Hz to about 14 Hz,consistent with frequencies known as delta, theta, and alpha frequenciesin the human body. The present disclosure is not limited with regard tothe stimulation frequency, however, and frequencies above this range orbelow this range could be applied within the present context. Forexample, embodiments are contemplated where the stimulation frequency isfrom about 15 Hz to about 10,000 Hz.

Control mechanism 14 further includes a computer processor 26, includingany suitable data processing device such as a microprocessor or a fieldprogrammable gate array (FPGA). Processor 26 may be in controlcommunication with power circuitry 24 and structured to control theenergizing of device 12 so as to produce a treatment signal encoded inthe energizing of device 12 and having a treatment signal frequency thatis different from, and typically less than, the stimulation frequency.Another way to understand the operating principles of control mechanism14 is that device 12 can be controlled such that the turning-on andturning-off (or other modulation such as varying of amplitude) ofelectrical power to device 12 encodes a treatment signal whereby thenervous system 22 of the patient is stimulated in a manner believed tobring about the desired positive results noted above and furtherdiscussed below.

Control mechanism 14 may further include a computer readable memory 28that stores computer executable program instructions that, uponexecution by processor 26, cause electrical power supply 16 or powercircuitry 24 to behave in a manner that may result in energizing device12 at the stimulation frequency. Memory 28 could include RAM, ROM, DRAM,SDRAM, Flash, or still another type of memory. Execution of the computerexecutable program instructions can further cause processor 26 tocontrol the energizing of device 12 so as to encode the treatment signalat a treatment signal frequency equal to or less than the stimulationfrequency. As noted above, the treatment signal may include electricalpulses produced by device 12 in a time-varying pattern that defines thetreatment signal frequency.

Treatment protocols may be used by processor 26 to control powercircuitry 24 and/or electrical power supply 16 in a particular way,examples of which are set forth below. In a practical implementationstrategy, system 10 may be structured for electro-therapeuticallytreating a patient according to a plurality of different availabletreatment protocols that may be stored in memory 28 and executed totreat a patient having any conditions, symptoms, or states caused by orassociated with a type of autonomic dysfunction categorized within apredefined zone. It has been observed that conditions, symptoms, orstates implicating the ANS may be associated or otherwise correspondwith imbalances in parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) activity or insympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity. For instance, each of SNSactivity and PNS activity might be higher or lower than a normal orexpected level of activity. In an implementation, such imbalances can becategorized in to 8 discrete zones, each zone representing acharacteristic type of autonomic dysfunction. A first zone (“Zone 1”)may be characterized by high PNS activity and low SNS activity, a secondzone (“Zone 2”) by high PNS activity and normal SNS activity, a thirdzone (“Zone 3”) by high dual autonomic tone, a fourth zone (“Zone 4”) byhigh SNS activity and normal PNS activity, a fifth zone (“Zone 5”) byhigh SNS activity and low PNS activity, a sixth zone (“Zone 6”) bynormal SNS activity and low PNS activity, a seventh zone (“Zone 7”) bylow SNS activity and low PNS activity, and an eighth zone (“Zone 8”) bylow SNS activity and normal PNS activity. Those skilled in the art willappreciate that a great many of medical or psychological conditions,symptoms, or states implicating the ANS are often associated withautonomic dysfunction characterized by one of these 8 zones.Accordingly, system 10 might be able to provide diagnostic informationresponsive to observed imbalances in PNS activity and SNS activity. Putdifferently, system 10 might be structured to gather diagnosticinformation by monitoring or otherwise receiving data indicativeelectrical activity in a patient and cause control mechanism 14 tooutput a diagnostic signal.

It will further be appreciated that by comparing the electrical activityobserved with stored patterns, control mechanism 14 can be structured tomake a determination as to a treatment protocol to be applied intreating the patient, and can execute that treatment protocol in amanner that is responsive to the diagnostic signal. In this way, controlmechanism 14 might select a treatment protocol by matching thecondition, symptom, or state to be treated with the corresponding zone.By way of example, if, for instance, a certain condition, symptom, orstate typically corresponds with high SNS activity and normal PNSactivity, a patient suffering from that condition may be treated byselecting the treatment protocol associated with Zone 4. Those skilledin the art will understand that at least some of the conditionsimplicating the ANS can be understood as a dysautonomic state ordysautonomia in the patient. Other zones than those specificallydescribed might be observed, including zones not listed, or not yetdiscovered or recognized. Some embodiments may include zones within eachof the listed zones (e.g., subzones) based upon particular electricalactivity profiles that are observed.

Those skilled in the art will nevertheless appreciate that in manyinstances the state of the patient's health, and which of a plurality ofdifferent zones the patient falls into, can be determined without anyneed to sense or directly monitor electrical activity in the ANS of thepatient. For example, a variety of conditions are known which are wellrecognized as having associations with the ANS imbalances observed inZones 1-8, which may allow a clinician to select a treatment protocolbased on observed or described symptoms or conditions. As such, in anembodiment, a medical professional or clinician might select a treatmentprotocol based on a diagnosed, observed, or suspected condition,symptom, or state. In other words, system 10 could be structured toallow a medical professional or clinician to select a treatment protocolwithout consulting data indicative of a patient's ANS. In such anembodiment, control mechanism 14 might not output the diagnostic signal.

Conversely, system 10 could also be structured to function in a purelydiagnostic manner. In such an embodiment, control device 14 might outputthe diagnostic signal based at least in part upon similarity between thedata indicative of electrical activity in the patient and the storedmodel, or differences between the data that is received and the storedmodel. The diagnostic signal could be structured to cause diagnosticinformation to be displayed on a display 34. For instance, system 10could output a display message that a patient's ANS activity isindicative of autonomic dysfunction characterized by one of the 8 Zonesmentioned above, which may assist the medical professional or clinicianin diagnosing the patient.

In the exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1 , control mechanism 14is structured to generate both the diagnostic signal and the treatmentsignal. System 10 may be structured to receive data indicative ofelectrical activity of a patient's ANS and, based on the data, determinewhich of a plurality of different possible states of autonomicdysfunction, or states of normal functioning, are present in orexperienced by the patient. For instance, in an implementation, device12 can include a sensory device or electrical probe, electromagneticallycoupled with the patient's nervous system 22 and structured to monitorelectrical activity of the patient's ANS. Control mechanism 14 may bestructured to receive the data, and compare the data with a stored modelof at least one pattern of electrical activity, which may include aplurality of zones each characteristic of a type of autonomicdysfunction, and generate the diagnostic signal responsive thereto. Forexample, control mechanism 14 might be structured to detect an ANSimbalance and categorize the detected imbalance as within one of anumber of the 8 Zones discussed above and generate a diagnostic signalindicative of the proper Zone.

Referring now to FIG. 2 , there is shown a graph 100 illustratingexample power spectral density (ms²/Hz) on the Y-axis in comparison tofrequency (Hz) on the X-axis. A first signal 110 represents electricalactivity that might be observed in a patient prior to treatment. Asecond signal or target signal is shown at 120 and represents what mightbe expected to be observed at least in a normalized sense in a healthyindividual. It should be appreciated that graph 100 and others hereinare purely illustrative. Electrical activity in the human nervous systemcan be highly dynamic, and thus the signal patterns that might beobserved prior to treatment could vary significantly from what isdepicted in FIG. 2 . Moreover, some patterns known to be indicative ofcertain disease states, or other states in a patient's nervous system,might not be evident all the time, and analysis over a period ofminutes, hours, or even longer might be necessary for a signal patternindicative of an imbalance, overstimulation or under-stimulation atcertain frequencies, or other signal properties of interest to beobserved. Analogously, detection of signal patterns that might beobserved after treatment, and indicative of changes in electricalactivity patterns that occur in response to treatment, may not beapparent in an instantaneous recording and instead require observationfor a period of time or under certain conditions. For these reasons itwill be appreciated that the signal patterns shown in FIG. 2 , andothers discussed herein, might or might not be observed or might differsignificantly from those observed, in an actual clinical setting.

Signal 120 may be understood as a target spectral density. The frequencyrange on the X-axis is divided into a plurality of bands, including anultra-low frequency or ULF band 130 that is about 0.0033 Hz or less, avery low frequency or VLF band 140 from about 0.0033 Hz to about 0.04Hz, a low frequency or LF band 140 from about 0.04 Hz to about 0.15 Hz,and a high frequency or HF band 160 is from about 0.15 Hz to about 0.4Hz. It can be seen from FIG. 2 that a relatively large difference inelectrical activity in the low frequency band is observed between thetarget signal 120 and the observed signal 110 within LF band 150,whereas a more modest difference, while still significant, is observedin the HF band 160, and a still smaller difference is observed in ULFand VLF bands 130, 140. Control mechanism 14, or potentially aclinician, could observe that the differences between signal 110 andsignal 120 are indicative of a particular condition. For instance, ithas been observed that patients experiencing post-traumatic stressdisorder or PTSD are characterized by under stimulation in the LF band150 and over stimulation in the ULF 130 band or below. Hypertension canbe characterized by too much sympathetic stimulation and thus a spike inthe ULF band 130. Sleep disorders are known to be characterized by toomuch sympathetic stimulation or not enough parasympathetic stimulationassociated with excessive sleepiness or problems sleeping, respectively.Anger and aggression disorders or states may be associated withsympathetic overstimulation. Future discoveries are expected to identifyand elucidate a great many different ANS states that are associated withdisease, psychological problems, immune system function, environmentalsensitivity, pain, and human physical and mental performance. Thepresent disclosure contemplates electro-therapy treatment of hundredsand potentially thousands of human and potentially non-human animal ANSconditions.

Referring to FIG. 3 , there is shown a graph 200 illustrating signal 120in comparison with a signal 210 that might be observed in a patientafter treatment according to the present disclosure. Graph 200 includesULF, VLF, LF, and HF bands, 130, 140, 150, and 160, respectively, witheach extending the same range of frequencies identified above withreference to graph 100. It can be seen that activity is increased insignal 210 in HF band 160 and in LF band 150, and less difference inmagnitude is evident between the two signals generally. Graph 200represents conditions that might be observed where the patient has beentreated according to the present disclosure and ANS imbalance ordysfunction has been reduced. It will be recalled that a plurality ofdifferent treatment protocols may be stored on memory 28, and thatcontrol mechanism 14 can control device 12 to stimulate the nervoussystem of the patient in a manner that is based on the treatmentprotocol selected. In the example set forth in FIGS. 2 and 3 the patientmight be stimulated, among other things, with treatment signalfrequencies within LF band 150. Through entrainment of the nervoussystem and resonant systems of the body generally to the treatmentsignal in the appropriate frequency range, ANS function can be shiftedin a manner such that imbalance between the PNS and SNS is reduced,under stimulation in the PNS or SNS is reduced, high dual autonomic toneis attenuated, or any other undesired pattern of electrical activity inthe ANS molded towards a target level or pattern of electrical activity.In an implementation, entraining a patient's ANS to the treatment signalcan be understood to adjust a power spectral density of the ANS toward atarget power spectral density. In the example of FIGS. 2 and 3 theactual or observed power spectral density is represented prior totreatment by signal 110, and after treatment by way of signal 210. Thetarget power spectral density is shown in each case by way of signal120.

As suggested above, different conditions identified by Zones 1-8, orother zones not specifically disclosed herein, can be treated indifferent ways. For instance, conditions identified by Zone 1 could betreated by treatment signals provided to device 12 within frequencyranges of ULF and VLF bands 130 and 140, respectively, to target anincrease in sympathetic activity, coupled with treatment signals withthe frequency range of LF band 150 to target an increase in activity athomeostatic frequencies. Conditions identified by Zone 2 could includetreatment with treatment signal frequencies within LF band 150. To treatconditions identified by Zone 3 treatment signal frequencies within LFband 150 might be used, potentially for the purpose of performanceenhancement. To treat conditions identified by Zone 4 treatment signalfrequencies within LF band 150 to target homeostasis could be applied.To treat conditions identified by Zone 5 treatment signal frequencieswithin HF band 160 to target an increase in parasympathetic activitycould be applied, and also with treatment signal frequencies within LFband 150 to target homeostasis. To treat conditions identified by Zone 6treatment signal frequencies within HF band 160 to target an increase inparasympathetic activity, with treatment signal frequencies within LFband 150 could be applied. To treat conditions identified by Zone 7treatment signal frequencies within ULF and VLF bands 130 and 140,respectively, coupled with treatment signal frequencies within HF band160 to target increase in parasympathetic activity, potentially alsowith treatment signal frequencies within LF band 150 to targethomeostasis could be applied. To treat conditions identified by Zone 8,treatment signal frequencies within LF band 150 coupled with treatmentsignal frequencies within ULF band 130 and VLF band 140 could be appliedto target an increase in sympathetic activity.

It will be appreciated from the foregoing discussion that thestimulation frequency (i.e., the electromagnetic frequency by whichenergizing of device 12 actually occurs) is not understood as thefrequency employed to treat the patient, at least not with respect toANS entrainment to adjust power spectral density. The frequenciesunderstood to effect entrainment and coherence of ANS activity are lowerfrequencies, and in some instances may be frequencies lower thanstandard electro-therapy treatment equipment can readily generate. Someequipment could be structured to generate treatment signal frequenciesthat are equal to or less than a corresponding stimulation frequency.The encoding of the treatment signal in the controlled energizing ofdevice 12 provides a mechanism for stimulating the nervous system andultimately bringing about electrical activity of a desired spectraldensity in a manner that would otherwise not be possible or at least notpracticable with conventional equipment. As discussed above, applyingelectrical stimulation to the nervous system of a patient is understoodto trigger a cascade of events originating in the patient's CNS thatultimately causes the desired electrical activity in desired spectra tocome about by way of entrainment.

Frequencies understood as the signature frequencies of parasympatheticactivity and sympathetic activity can be observed, for example, in theheart rate variability (HRV) patterns of the patient. It has beenobserved that the PNS produces a rhythm at least under certainconditions according to a cycle of about 4.5 seconds or about 0.225 Hz.Encoding a treatment signal as discussed herein in this frequency rangecan entrain the electrical activity of the nervous system in a mannerthat modulates parasympathetic activity. In other words, by encoding atreatment signal at the frequencies observed in the rhythm of the PNS,an increase in electrical activity of the PNS due to the entrainingeffect can be expected to be observed.

Referring now also to FIGS. 4-6 , an exemplary parasympathetic,sympathetic, and homeostatic rhythms are illustrated, respectively,wherein each of the hereinafter disclosed electrical pulses might have astimulation frequency from about 1 Hz to about 14 Hz, althoughfrequencies above or below this range could also be applied. Referringnow to FIG. 4 in particular, there is shown heart rate in beats perminute on the Y-axis, over time (seconds) on the X-axis, with aplurality of electrical pulses separated by a time-varying duration thatencodes the treatment signal. Zones A, B, C, D, E, shown with elementnumbers 420, 430, 440, 450, and 460, respectively, are shown between theelectrical pulses, and it can be observed that the time between thepulses decreases from zone A 420 to zone C 440, then begins to increasefrom zone C 440 to zone E 460. The instantaneous heart rate can be seento increase from zone A 420 to the end of zone C 440, and then decrease.This rhythmic change shown by way of a curve 410 in graph 400 occurs atthe treatment signal frequency. In the context of system 10, it will beunderstood that control mechanism 14 is causing device 12 to deliverelectrical pulses to the patient according to the time-varying patternset forth in graph 400, at least where parasympathetic activity istargeted. Put differently, FIG. 4 shows a parasympathetic rhythm havinga 4.5-second cycle (i.e., from about 0.23 to about 0.25 Hz). As can beseen, the parasympathetic rhythm may include approximately fiveelectrical pulses during a 4.5-second cycle. At zone A 420 the pulsesare separated by about 0.86 seconds, about 0.65 seconds at zone B 430,about 0.63 seconds at zone C 440, about 0.95 seconds at zone D 450, andabout 1.33 seconds at zone E 460.

Referring to FIG. 5 , there is shown an analogous chart or graph 500including a curve 510, with heart rate shown on the Y-axis in comparisonto time (seconds) shown on the X-axis. Curve 510 represents asympathetic rhythm that can be used within the context of system 10 totarget sympathetic activity. Individual electrical pulses are notdepicted in FIG. 5 , as the sympathetic rhythm of interest is a330-second rhythm (i.e., a frequency of about 0.0033 Hz). Thiscorresponds to about 198 pulses in 165 seconds, and thus the greatnumber of pulses are omitted from FIG. 5 for clarity. It willnevertheless be appreciated that the pulses may start at an interval ofabout 1.33 seconds apart, then decrease by about 0.00344 seconds everypulse until an interval of about 0.65 seconds is reached, and then thepulse separation increased by about 0.00344 seconds every pulse to getback to an interval of about 1.33 seconds, although other variations arecontemplated. Generally analogous to the changing pulse-to-pulseinterval depicted in FIG. 4 , the changing interval in FIG. 5 encodes atreatment signal frequency that is understood to reflect a sympatheticrhythm and entrain the SNS electrical activity toward a desiredelectrical activity, ultimately leading to or toward a target spectraldensity.

FIG. 6 depicts a graph 600 and a signal 610 where the treatment signalfrequency that is encoded is reflective of a homeostatic frequency ofabout 0.1 Hz. Zones A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, and K shown withelement numbers 620, 625, 630, 635, 640, 645, 650, 655, 660, 665, and670, respectively, are shown between the electrical pulses, and it canbe observed that the time between the pulses decreases from zone A 620to zone F 645, then begins to increase from zone G 650 to zone K 670.The instantaneous heart rate can be seen to increase from zone A 620 tothe end of zone F 645, and then decrease. More particularly, it will beunderstood from FIG. 6 that starting from about a 1 second interval atzone A 620, electrical pulses can be delivered with a decreasinginterval (0.9 seconds at zone B 625, 0.82 seconds at zone C 630, 0.82seconds at zone D 635, 0.77 seconds at zone D 635, and 0.71 seconds atzone E 640) down to about 0.65 seconds at zone F 645, then increased(0.75 seconds at zone G 650, 0.85 seconds at zone H 655, 0.95 seconds atzone I 660, and 1.1 seconds at zone J 665) back up to about 1.33 secondsat zone K 670.

It should be appreciated that in addition to encoding a signal basedupon the varying pulse-to-pulse interval as discussed herein, the pulseintensity can be varied. It has been observed that the amplitude of oneor more of the peaks in the heart rate PQRS wave, in particular the Rpeak, can vary in a manner that is linked with the varying of heartrate. Leveraging this phenomenon according to the present disclosure,amplitudes of the stimulation signal could be varied in a manner that ispositively correlated with an increase in pulse-to-pulse duration, forinstance, or negatively correlated with an increase in pulse-to-pulseduration, potentially bringing about different or increased entrainmentof ANS function and/or variability in heart rate that in turn affectsANS function.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

Referring to the drawings generally, but in particular now to FIG. 7 ,there is shown example control logic and process flow in a flowchart300. The process of flowchart 300 is shown beginning at a block 310where data indicative of electrical activity of the ANS is received, andadvances to block 320 to compare the data with a stored model. Fromblock 320, the process advances to block 330 to output a diagnosticsignal as discussed herein. From block 330, the process advances toblock 340 to energize the stimulatory device in a manner so as to encodea treatment signal at a treatment signal frequency. The patient might betreated for a period of hours or even days at the desiredfrequency(ies). In some instances feedback and/or closed loop controlwith continuous or periodic gathering of data as to the spectral densityproduced in the ANS of the patient might be performed. It is alsocontemplated that frequencies might be applied to treat the patienteither consecutively or concurrently.

It will be recalled that embodiments are contemplated where system 10,or analogously configured systems, are not used at all for diagnosticpurposes, or are used in a manner that is different from that describedin connection with the flowchart of FIG. 7 . In one example, a patientcan arrive for treatment at a clinician's office or treatment center anddescribe symptoms and/or a physical examination of the patient can beperformed. The patient is then treated, based upon the expertise andknowledge of the clinician, according to one of the treatment protocolsstored on computer readable memory 28.

In still other instances, control mechanism 14 could be structured so asto be configured to produce a selectable stimulatory output. Embodimentsin which system 10 could be used by a patient without assistance from amedical professional or clinician (e.g., home use) are alsocontemplated. It is anticipated that display 34 or another userinterface could include controls for selectively varying treatmentsignal frequencies that are provided by system 10 to device 12. It isfurther contemplated that a user interface could include a plurality of“knobs” such as slide controls each corresponding to frequencies in theULF, VLF, LF, and HF bands 130, 140, 150, and 160, respectively, thatcan allow a user to initiate or adjust the relative intensity ofelectrical stimulation in and among each of the different bands. In FIG.1 a plurality of touchscreen slide-bar controls are shown at referencenumeral 36. In this manner, it will be understood that a user could setup system 10 to stimulate a patient according to a desired treatmentsignal frequency or frequency pattern to drive ANS activity toward atarget spectral density. As also can be seen in FIG. 1 , controlmechanism 14, display 34, and controls 42 might reside within a commonhousing 44, although each may be separate in other embodiments.

The present description is for illustrative purposes only, and shouldnot be construed to narrow the breadth of the present disclosure in anyway. Thus, those skilled in the art will appreciate that variousmodifications might be made to the presently disclosed embodimentswithout departing from the full and fair scope and spirit of the presentdisclosure. Other aspects, features and advantages will be apparent uponan examination of the attached drawings and appended claims. As usedherein, the articles “a” and “an” are intended to include one or moreitems, and may be used interchangeably with “one or more.” Where onlyone item is intended, the term “one” or similar language is used. Also,as used herein, the terms “has,” “have,” “having,” or the like areintended to be open-ended terms. Further, the phrase “based on” isintended to mean “based, at least in part, on” unless explicitly statedotherwise.

1. A method of electro-therapeutically treating a patient comprising:energizing a stimulatory device at a stimulation signal frequency;controlling the energizing of the stimulatory device so as to encode atreatment signal in the energizing of the stimulatory device, thetreatment signal having a treatment signal frequency that is equal to orless than the stimulation signal frequency; and entraining the autonomicnervous system of the patient to the treatment signal, so as to adjust apower spectral density of the autonomic nervous system of the patienttoward a target power spectral density. 2.-23. (canceled)